324th Episode
It was first witnessed in Izhise.
To be precise, Ray saw it within the illusion unfolded by Resina’s legacy.
Ray stepped onto the final battlefield where Harshia once stood.
In an imitation of Harshia’s form, Ray wielded power comparable to hers and traversed the battlefield.
However, Ray was not Harshia, and despite his best efforts, he could not reach the end of the battlefield.
Still, Ray managed to glimpse with his own eyes, from a distance, the entity that awaited at the end of the battlefield.
The power possessed by the entity at the end of the battlefield was immense.
It held strength often rated as Lord-tier, or perhaps even greater.
Yet, the reason Ray’s gaze was momentarily captivated wasn’t due to the sheer magnitude of its power.
The entity was alien.
Even amidst the sea of alien lifeforms within the illusory Demonic Realm, where everything seemed foreign…
This entity was uniquely alien.
What was the source of the alien power possessed by the being at the end of the battlefield?
Only after Ray had emerged from the illusion and spent considerable time pondering hundreds of times did he finally arrive at an answer.
Corrupted divine energy. More specifically, El-Lam’s authority fused with “something else” through corruption.
When Ray reached this conclusion, he also obtained several pieces of evidence and circumstances necessary to infer the ‘truth.’
Decisively, while entering the boundary to communicate with the World Tree, Ray came into contact with a fragment left by Harshia.
From Harshia’s fragment, Ray extracted fragmented information.
Thanks to this, Ray completed his vague conjectures and uncovered the ‘truth.’
Preches. That Dragon was strange.
How could a mere mortal possess the ability to arbitrarily manipulate and corrupt the powers of transcendent beings, fusing them together?
That sounded more far-fetched than a five-year-old child mixing random medications without knowledge to create an elixir.
Fusing the powers of transcendent beings to create ‘new power’ was possible only for those very transcendent beings themselves.
Ray witnessed the result of such fusion in the illusion experienced in Izhise.
The first hybrid created by El-Lam and the Evil Deity.
The lump of destruction that Harshia sacrificed her life and Nonagram to eradicate.
Preches attempted to mimic the power of this first hybrid.
And, after several hundred years, Preches succeeded in mimicking that power and was on the verge of blossoming.
Then, what abilities did the first hybrid possess that compelled Harshia to make such sacrifices?
This could be deduced inversely by observing Preches.
Since Preches mimicked the first hybrid, his abilities would likely resemble it.
The continent faced the threat of annihilation just from the blooming of Preches, who was inferior in every aspect to the first hybrid.
If the first hybrid had begun to influence the world significantly, the entire continent would have been so polluted that ordinary people would find it nearly impossible to survive.
At that point, when most living beings on the land were on the brink of extinction,
El-Lam forced Harshia into a contract by presenting her with an ultimatum.
Ray revealed the truth he had discovered to Alexander.
“El-Lam and the Evil Deities created their first hybrid there.”
BOOM!!
Alexander ultimately shattered the table completely and grabbed Ray by the collar.
“You’re out of your mind.”
*
BANG – BOOM!
A soundproof barrier surrounded the building.
Nevertheless, faint noises emanated from inside the building.
No one yelling could possibly cause vibrations beyond the soundproof barrier.
As they waited outside, both the Royal Guard and Alexander’s adjutant exchanged glances before simultaneously entering the barrier and bursting open the door.
As soon as the door opened, Ray and Alexander spoke simultaneously.
“Leave.”
“Stand down.”
The Royal Guard and Alexander’s adjutant quickly scanned the room.
The central table was broken, Ray sat casually on a chair, and Alexander sat with his arms crossed.
The Royal Guard and the adjutant hesitated briefly before stepping aside.
They didn’t want to intervene and risk making things louder, which might lead to rumors spreading.
If word of conflict between these two spread before the expedition entered the Demonic Realm, morale would collapse instantly.
Well, it didn’t seem like they’d come to blows, so eventually, the Royal Guard and Alexander reluctantly withdrew, closing the door behind them with uneasy faces.
After the intruders left, Alexander continued to glare silently at Ray with his arms crossed.
Facing the visibly uncomfortable Alexander, Ray spoke first.
“Hmm, let’s summarize…”
“…”
“Harshia became a threat even to El-Lam and the Evil Deities, so they teamed up to force her self-destruction, splitting the Demonic Realm as a side effect, and then a corrupted Dragon successfully mimicked the first hybrid, leading to this crisis.”
“…”
“Doesn’t seem too hard to understand, right?”
“…I don’t know why you’re spouting such blasphemous nonsense in front of me.”
“I hoped you wouldn’t misjudge the situation regarding the Demonic Realm. But you’re not someone easily deceived by half-truths, Cardinal Alexander.”
“So you dared to utter such absurdities in front of the Cardinal?”
“Looking at the level you’ve reached and your past actions, you don’t seem like a zealot. Besides, is my story really that blasphemous?”
“…?”
“In the region where I lived, there was a tale. Long ago, humans built a towering tower to reach the heavens, but the gods grew enraged by their arrogance, cursed them, and destroyed the tower.”
“…”
“They crushed the crawling insects because it displeased them. Yet everyone believes in and follows such gods.”
“…”
“With a little tweaking, Harshia’s story could become a cautionary tale warning against human arrogance. Doesn’t something similar exist in the Holy Scriptures of the Divine Order?”
Having said that, Ray smirked.
As Alexander had pointed out, the content could have been edited appropriately for easier acceptance.
Still, Ray laid bare the truth he’d uncovered to Alexander without alteration.
Reflecting on his actions for a moment, Ray nodded and admitted honestly.
“Yeah… maybe I was just feeling spiteful.”
“Spite?”
“If we win this war, even if Anthonyus dims your shine a bit, you’ll become a figure wielding more influence within the Church than even the Pope.”
“…”
“I wanted you, alone, to reflect on the flaws of the absolute being the Church reveres. It seems fitting, doesn’t it? The situation is amusing.”
How would Alexander perceive the flaws of El-Lam?
Would he deny the idea that mortals should judge the intentions of the divine?
Or would he unconditionally respect the will of the deity, or perhaps harbor disdain for this transcendent being?
Ray couldn’t tell. Hence, this act of his was not much different from spite.
While Ray smiled amusedly, Alexander slowly spoke.
“…Are you not El-Lam’s Apostle?”
“Maybe in definition. That’s why I despise those bastards up there even more. Know why?”
“…”
“They’re damn human-like, in a bad way. And they look down on us like we look down on crawling ants.”
Alexander had many words to say, and many arguments to present.
For instance, he could have countered Ray’s heretical claims with theological logic all day, pointing out errors endlessly.
But Alexander chose not to do that. It was unnecessary.
Instead, Alexander asked another question.
“So, has all your sacrifice thus far merely been fulfilling a forced obligation?”
“Hmm.”
Ray smirked and shook his head.
“I followed Harshia’s will. Let’s leave it at that.”
Harshia sacrificed her life and Nonagram for the lives of all who lived upon the earth.
Ray resolved to follow in Harshia’s footsteps to protect those he cared about.
“Just leave it at that,” Ray requested with a shrug.
Alexander quietly stared at Ray for quite some time before uncrossing his arms.
“The conversation until now never happened.”
Mortals must not recklessly gaze upon the heavens or dream.
This maxim applied to Swordmasters as well, depending on the context.
Of course, the truth Ray shared was deeply unsettling yet intriguing. It wasn’t something one could simply forget by deciding to.
Back in his youth, Alexander once regarded El-Lam as a colossal, inorganic entity that triggered phenomena according to set rules—like the sun.
For someone who had once thought that way, Ray describing them as ‘human-like’ was quite shocking.
Whether today’s dialogue would become a lifelong curse or a clue to stepping into new realms remained unknown.
Regardless, it was time to stop fruitless arguments and focus on addressing the impending calamity.
As Alexander moved forward, Ray nodded in agreement.
“Alright, let’s discuss how to handle the mess that bastard left behind.”
“…I said it never happened.”
“I misspoke. My apologies.”
Ray grinned with one eye tinged red.
*
In reality, there wasn’t much to discuss regarding the expedition strategy.
The roles assigned to Ray and Alexander at the forefront were crystal clear.
The movements of troops to maintain the front line were already planned, and discussing variables proved meaningless due to their overwhelming number.
They did agree on a few crucial discussions and the allocation of power.
Afterward, Ray and Alexander walked amicably for show.
Amid the gazes of the gathered expedition forces, Ray asked,
“So, when does the commander intend to give his speech? Time is running short.”
“I had prepared something, but compared to your speech, it seemed rather dull, so I decided to skip it and deliver a brief one just before marching.”
“Ah… You’re joking, right?”
“It’s the truth. Sometimes, isn’t it more effective to etch a single, intense experience into memory rather than listen to the empire’s greatest orator drone on for three days?”
“True…”
Ray agreed and looked up.
Since this was the second sortie, he could sense from the initial mana fluctuations what preparations were underway.
“What a flashy start.”
Soon, the skies will open.
Advance (3)
